【Minutes of Morning Meeting on April 29】Indonesia's local ore premiums remained stable. The cost line of smelters was generally stable with slight rise, while the decline in spot prices had already broken through the cost line of some smelters. Production drivers and domestic demand weakened simultaneously, with overall production remaining stable. Demand side, stainless steel spot prices were at a low level in recent years, and the immediate raw material costs were high, leading to an inverted situation. In the short term, downstream stainless steel mills had weak demand for raw material procurement, and the center of market transactions continued to move downward. It is expected that high-grade NPI prices will remain under pressure in the short term.

[SMM Daily Review: Stainless Steel Market Performance Falls Short of Expectations, Short-Term High-Grade NPI Prices May Be in the Doldrums] On April 28, the average price of SMM 8-12% high-grade NPI was 967.5 yuan/mtu (ex-factory, tax included), down 1.5 yuan/mtu from the previous working day...

The following table shows the ferrous and nonferrous metals movement on the SHFE and DCE on 28 Apr, 2025

On April 28, the SMM index price for battery-grade nickel sulphate was 27,815 yuan/mt, with the quotation range for battery-grade nickel sulphate at 27,820-28,340 yuan/mt, and the average price remained stable compared to yesterday.

Recently, the market has been influenced by the rebound in futures prices and the MHP coefficient fluctuating at highs. As of now, the MHP coefficient (relative to the SMM battery-grade nickel sulphate index) stands at 84%-85%, and the FOB price of Indonesian MHP is $12,634 per mt (Ni contained).

On Friday evening, LME copper opened at $9,375.5/mt. It initially dipped to $9,350/mt, fluctuated considerably during the session, hitting a high of $9,401.5/mt, and closed at $9,360/mt after continued fluctuations, marking a 1% decline.

【Summary of Morning Meeting on April 24】Last week, nickel prices continued the volatile pattern seen since mid-April. The average price of SMM1# refined nickel last week was 126,850 yuan/mt, up slightly by 0.5% WoW. LME nickel futures prices fluctuated rangebound around $15,600-15,800/mt. Expectations for US Fed interest rate hikes in June increased, putting pressure on LME nickel prices denominated in US dollars. Risk-averse sentiment among investors was pronounced, and the tug-of-war between longs and shorts in the market intensified.

Nickel prices continued to fluctuate this week, with inventory remaining at a high level. Nickel prices maintained the fluctuation pattern since mid-April, with the average price of SMM1# refined nickel at 126,850 yuan/mt, up 0.5% WoW. Inventory-wise, the Shanghai Bonded Zone inventory stood at around 5,800 mt, flat WoW, while the domestic social inventory was approximately 44,700 mt, with an inventory buildup of about 701 mt WoW. The high inventory level continues to suppress the upside room for nickel prices to some extent.